TruGreen on its own

It isn’t often that separating from a billion-dollar company would be seen as a good move. But that is exactly what David Alexander, president of TruGreen, sees after the company did just that at the end of 2013. As one of the largest lawn care service companies in the United States, TruGreen will spend most of 2014 focusing on improving internal operations.

TruGreen, which was acquired by The ServiceMaster Co. in 1991, was spun off into a private company late last year, and Alexander said it has already turned the corner from difficulties it has had since 2012.

While those difficulties led to their separation, the two companies still share space in ServiceMaster’s headquarters, for now.

Alexander talked with MBJ about TruGreen’s past problems and how the company has already begun the process of standing on its own.